Basically, instead of asking others for things for yourself on your birthday, you switch it up and give to others. The purpose is to do the whole pay it forward thing. Its a pretty amazing thing to see, once the ripple effect hits.

My birthday is in January.. the big 29... the last year of my 20's... and I have been racking my brain trying to figure out how to spend that last year making it awesome.. I thought of trips, I thought of a giant party.. and then it hit me... Why not spend that last year of my 20s helping others?

Then I was stuck.. well, what do I do? Do I volunteer more, do I help strangers, do I babysit... etc... After praying on it, I got my answer... Birthday Project M.L. Photography style. I will be giving away 29 free photo sessions.

But here is the catch. The families that get these sessions have to deserve them.. and I want to know why. I want you to nominate the families that stick out in the community.

Who do you know that helps shovel snow in the winter for the older couple across the street? Who do you know that helps that family that can't make ends meet sometimes?

Better yet, what about that family that is barely making it, and can't afford extra things -- like family photos?

Send me a comment on my Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/MLphotographyTardif?ref=hl ), or if its a private personal matter, message me. ( MLPhotography3@yahoo.com ) I want to know my community. I want to show that good deeds do not or should not go unnoticed.

I want that hard-working father supporting a family on a single income to know he is doing great...even if he doesn't feel like it. I want that momma that works two jobs and goes to school to know that it will pay off in the end.

I want all these people that struggle, or go the extra mile to help others and never ask anything in return, to in fact, get something in return.

Each month I will be picking families, maybe one or maybe more, but at the end of the year I do know that at least 29 families will have had their photos taken. I will give them the photos free of charge as well. In most places, this can be a value of over $250 and up..

The families selected for this will never be published as " the needy family" or "deserving family" Families selected for this project will be kept confidential unless noted otherwise.

So there we have it... my mission for this next year... for goal for to meet before I turn 30. Lets do this!